Spoilers and Those Who Spoil

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read this blog if you don’t want to know about the ending of “Short Circuit.”

I will never…ever forgive Ryan Davis.

The date: August 14, 1986

The place: The dollar theater in Manchester, Missouri.

The movie: “Short Circuit”

I’m notorious for having a terrible memory, but I will never forget my tenth birthday. I was seated in a movie theater, surrounded by several of my friends enjoying the hilarious robotic antics of Johnny 5. Toward the end of the movie we were led to believe that our new robot friend had been blown to bits (or “disassembled” as he would charmingly yelp). I was mortified.

However Ryan Davis, who had been treated to Pizza Hut pizza and a movie by my loving parents, leaned over and said, “Johnny 5 isn’t dead. It’s a fake robot.”

Dramatic weight lost, movie ruined.

Was Ryan intentionally being malicious in his revealing of the movie’s ending? Probably not. Did his comment rob me of the elation I would have felt when I saw Johnny 5 had not been disassembled? Totally.

Spoilers have been a hot topic in the “Survivor” community lately. As someone who used to root around my parents closet looking for Christmas gifts, I’m not going to say anything negative about those who actively seek spoilers. I read someone say that they like to know who’s going home in advance so they can read how the episode is edited. If that’s how you enjoy the show, go for it.

My concern is with people who intentionally spoil those who don’t want to know.

It happened to me two seasons ago when someone posted the “Heroes Vs. Villains” final three in the comments section of one of my Fancast recaps. It sucked. Another little Ryan Davis.

It’s happening right now on “Survivor” host Jeff Probst’s new website (jeffprobst.com).

I guess I understand the appeal in that it’s like the Internet’s version of ringing someone’s doorbell and running away. But that ring-and-run is going to annoy that person for about five minutes. Spoiling someone’s show could take some joy away from them for the next several months.

Maybe that’s a ridiculous way to look at things, it is after all “just a show,” but is there really enough joy in today’s world to just intentionally start pissing off people?

Especially after they TREATED YOU TO PIZZA HUT AND BOUGHT YOU POPCORN?!

3 Responses to “Spoilers and Those Who Spoil”

I agree with you, I have looked for spoilers in the past, but I never shared them with anyone who didn’t want to know. For the people who put a warning on the spoiler, go ahead, then people are warned. This season I am actively trying to avoid them, because I am taking place in a fantasy pool. I don’t want to cheat, so I don’t want to know!

I agree! I hate spoilers but I understand that for some reason that is beyond my comprehension, some people like to find out what happens ahead of time. Fine. To each their own. But why do some of these people insist on spoiling it for others who may not want to know? What kind of perverse pleasure do they get from it? If you want to post spoilers, at least have the decency to put a spoiler warning ahead of it! Not only are they spoiling the show for people, but they’re spoiling participation in discussion boards and the comments sections of articles and blogs. For some time, the Survivor board on imdb seemed pretty safe – most people were respectful enough to not post spoilers in thread titles, and to use spoiler tags in their posts. But then a few weeks ago, someone posted who they say is the final 3 this season in the thread title with no warning. I’m hoping they’re wrong and that the season truly isn’t spoiled for me already. So now I avoid all discussion boards and comments sections, meaning I have nowhere to discuss the show with other fans – something I really enjoyed. I’d hoped Jeff’s site was the answer, but he’s only one man and can only spend so much time policing for spoilers and I’m grateful that he’s even trying. I wish there was a solution to the problem, but I’m afraid I’ll have to accept that there’s just no safe site out there to discuss the game.
(By the way, I feel your pain – someone ruined The Sixth Sense for me)

Just an FYI… there are no verified spoilers for this season. There are vague guesses and the same people that spoiled Samoa – Nicaragua say they know spoilers, but are not sharing them. Anyways… not one of the bootees so far has been posted openly.

And the people spoiling in public places are just mean-spirited pranksters. Maybe the infamous spoiler (if he has any in the first place) is best to keep his yap shut this year.